On pace to hit over 50 home runs having never hit more than 30? Is it the stadium or that annoying habit of the Yankees to turn a blind eye while their over paid, over hyped mercenaries juice their brains out? Inquiring minds want to know....

There once upon was a player who at the age of 27 had never hit more than 20 HRs and never had 100 RBI. In his 6th full season at 27 he put up a .326/.418/.622 year with an OPS of 1.040 and 44 HR - 121 RBI. He was the last Triple Crown winner, the year was 1967 and he was the man they called Yaz.

So just because Granderson in 7th full season at the age of 30 is a guy who never hit more than 30 HRs in the canyon known as Comerica Park is threatening to put up 50+ in the left handers heaven known as The House That The Taxpayers Built, there is no reason to just assume that it must PEDs.

Yes, that unchanged string bean body type smacks of the juice, LOL. For those that are ignorant (and that includes the RS crank posters above, who in general claim every Yankee that performs well is on PEDS, and if they don't perform well, they ridicule the player as washed up, which was what posters said of Granderson last yr), he radically modified his stance and approach over the winter vs LHP, which used to be a big weakness.

Not say he or anyone else hits the juice, but body type is not always an indicator. Think of the sport with even more drug and roid issues, cycling. Not big bulky guys at all. You can have a chemist build you whatever you want. Combine it with the right workout, and you can have speed, strength, size, stamina, or whatever you want. His numbers are increadible given his size.

Thankfully, most people here have taken the time to shoot this notion down.

Keep in mind that there is NEVER anything wrong with asking the question...the worst things come when people stop paying attention and stop asking questions.

But the answer in this case is quite simple. Heck, I predicted Granderson would hit at least 40 homers LAST YEAR, between the change in stadiums and the boost that comes from such a deep lineup (note: deep lineups don't provide "protection", but over 162 games they do wear SPs down, allowing hitters to bludgeon mediocre RPs).

I never would have imagined that he would lose both his swing and plate discipline. But as some as noted, the Yanks straightened both out late last year and over the winter, boosting him into the 40+ territory I expected. And if he reaches 50 homers, the explanation is in his VAST improvement against left-handed pitching.

Granderson also whiffs like a fool. HRs are nice ... but they are not everything. Especially if they only come against soft pitching. Papi was doing that for awhile, crushing bad pitchers, and sucking against anybody who was decent. So maybe it is just the quality of pitching in the AL East now ...

Or maybe the stadium has something to do with it ... what are his splits, home/away?

Granderson also whiffs like a fool. HRs are nice ... but they are not everything. Especially if they only come against soft pitching. Papi was doing that for awhile, crushing bad pitchers, and sucking against anybody who was decent. So maybe it is just the quality of pitching in the AL East now ... Or maybe the stadium has something to do with it ... what are his splits, home/away?Posted by soxmeister

So did Mantle, Ruth, Killebrew, RJax, etc. Show me a breakdown of pitcher ability with him that is vastly different than other elite hitters; otherwise this comment is bogus. Splits: Home-12, Away-9; about what you would expect with YS's short RF porch.

Not say he or anyone else hits the juice, but body type is not always an indicator. Think of the sport with even more drug and roid issues, cycling. Not big bulky guys at all. You can have a chemist build you whatever you want. Combine it with the right workout, and you can have speed, strength, size, stamina, or whatever you want. His numbers are increadible given his size.Posted by Soxfanatik-VA

Granderson also whiffs like a fool. HRs are nice ... but they are not everything. Especially if they only come against soft pitching. Papi was doing that for awhile, crushing bad pitchers, and sucking against anybody who was decent. So maybe it is just the quality of pitching in the AL East now ... Or maybe the stadium has something to do with it ... what are his splits, home/away?Posted by soxmeister

Granderson's home run splits are 12 home (57%); 9 away (43%). Stop blaming the stadium, out of 103 team homers, they hit 41 (39.80%) on the road, just under 60% at home.. They are a proficient home run hitting team. Can you leave it at that? For the record, The Sox hit 42% of their homers at home and 58% on the road. I suggest that has more to do with having a lineup stacked with lefthanders than anythng else in a right friendly park.

Bobby V suggested that Carl Crawford look at what Curtis is doing and think about modifying his stupid stance in a similar way. Cut out the useless stuff, hit better.Posted by CTJake14

For the most part Bobby V can be a real blowhard but I think he is right about Crawford closing his stance. He has never had success against LH pitching and that is a very noisy swing. Watching him every day like we do now, it is actually a testimony to his athletic ability that he is a career .335 lifetime OBP - .776 OPS hitter.

On the topic of the two teams HRs I would think the NYY do have their HR production amplified by theirs and the RS have their doubles amplified by Fenway.

Not blaming either. Check out size comprison between Curtis and Floyd Landis. No difference. Just saying you can't tell by size. In the image below he is ripped, not skinny. That doesn't mean he is juicing.

I'm thinking the Yankees aren't the only ones who turn a blind eye while guys juice their brains out.

Posted by SpacemanEephus

I agree......

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein asked about Gagne's possible use of steroids when the team was considering acquiring him. In a Nov. 1, 2006 e-mail to Red Sox scout Mark Delpiano responded: "Some digging on Gagne and steroids IS the issue. Has had a checkered medical past throughout career including minor leagues. Lacks the poise and commitment to stay healthy, maintain body and re invent self. What made him a tenacious closer was the max effort plus stuff ... Mentality without the plus weapons and without steroid help probably creates a large risk in bounce back durability and ability to throw average while allowing the changeup to play as it once did ... Personally, durability (or lack of) will follow Gagne." Despite the negative scouting report, the Red Sox traded for Gagne last July and he struggled, going 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA for Boston.

In his role as co-host of Comcast New England's "Baseball Show," Merloni said that he remembered a meeting during Spring Training when a doctor adressed the Boston players about steroids.

Upon entering the lecture, Merloni, who was in the Sox system from 1993-2002, expected to hear about how bad steroids were for you, but things played out very differently.

"He sat there for one hour and told us how to properly use steroids while I'm with the Boston Red Sox, sitting there with the rest of the organization, and after this I said, 'What the heck was that?' And everybody on the team was like, 'What was that?' And the response we got was, 'Well, we know guys are taking it, so we want to make sure they're taking it the right way.' ... Where did that come from? That didn't come from the Players Association."

Manny was a superstar. They suspended him twice, the second time ending his career. So I'm pretty sure if Curtis Granderson is cheating, he'll get caught.

I think we can stop immediately pointing towards PED for a while. I'm sure someone will try again, and they'll find a new way to cheat the game sooner or later, but there'd no evidence it's happening now.

Looked at the photo, and you've got to be kidding me; he's in great shape, and it's mostly chiseled abs, and wiry in general. You've validated my point. To put it another way; show me a power hitter who is more wiry than him; most singles hitters look thicker. If we're going to suspect him we might as well suspect the whole league, which brings me back to my original point; this is just a bunch of whining by some crank RS fans who can't stand when a Yankee is performing well.

Please go back and read my posts. I am NOT saying he is a user. Many "defenders" say he can't use he is too small. Size is not an indication of steroids. Your point was he is "skinny". He is clearly not "skinny". He is very in shape, and likely extremely strong. Clearly in that photo he is his bigger than Lance, who you think looked bulked up during his Tour wins (he is bigger and more ripped now). Griffey (considered by most to be clean) was another lean guy with a great homerun power. Saying a guy is or is not a user based on what you see in a uniform is like trying to test for witches by seeing if they float. My point is just because they are not bulked up like an ape does not mean they are clean. Pettitte was never big, but admitted to using. Granderson hopefully is not a user. I don't wish that on any team. Just don't dismiss or convict based on a false stereotype.